April 9, 2011

Panorama

image by " rel="nofollow Jocelyn Sérot

Have you had a chance to observe yet this lunation? I did Wednesday night, when it was clear and warm, and
the terminator was a little to the east of where it is in Jocelyn's image. I was trying out a 4.5" Orion " rel="nofollow Starblast
telescope to see if we should recommend it for schools that want to participate in our " rel="nofollow MoonGazers after
school activities. The telescope is cheap ($199) and has a dobsonian tabletop mount. My view was not quite
as sharp as this but was dramatic with Crisium appearing as a giant smooth patch interrupting the more rugged
terrain to either side. Cleomedes was visible as a smaller version of Crisium, suggesting that the two were the
same kind of feature. With a simple map it would be easy for a beginner to identify Endymion, Langrenus, and
the odd shaped Vendelinus. But the treat was Petavius, whose dark trench was just visible, but I don't think I
would have noticed it if I didn't know it was there. I like the view with this small telescope - it would offer many
opportunities for exploring the lunar surface for many months. And it is a great pick up and go scope for when
threatening clouds, shortness of time, or just laziness preclude setting up a more capable instrument. But in
fact, the Moon is captivating with almost any optical aid from opera glasses to Hubble Space Telescope.

" rel="nofollow Chuck Wood

Technical Details
Apr 7, 2011, 17h55 to 18h TU. Intes 6" MCT, prime focus, IR-pass filter, DMK 31. Processing: Registax V6 + Gimp. mosaic of 5 images.

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